Metal Max is an RPG series that's mostly been ignored by Western publishers, with the 2006 PlayStation 2 spin-off Metal Saga still the only game to get an official English release. It's a shame because the franchise puts into one package so many of the tropes that red-blooded gamers worldwide love: a post-apocalyptic landscape; the ability to drive cool tanks and sports cars around said landscape; big guns; and they were also doing the "heavily armored canine sidekick" thing long before Call of Duty made it mainstream. Maybe this lack of attention will change with Metal Saga 4, announced by Kadokawa Games in this week's issue of Famitsu magazine. Developed by most of the main team from the original Metal Max (a 1991 NES release in Japan), the game stars Hinata, a kid who lives with his...

Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aime places the blame on North American retail practices for the lack of variety in Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL colors. Speaking to IGN, Fils-Aime explained color variations are more prominent throughout Japan thanks to a tendency within the country to keep hardware behind the counter. Comparatively, Western retailers will generally place hardware on shelves that limit the amount of units that can be made available. "It really comes down to the nuts and bolts of how we manage our [stock keeping units] at retail, and how we do it in a way that's effective for us and effective for our business partners," Fils-Aime said."You've visited retail in Japan. One of the key differences in Japan is that the hardware is that it's behind the counter. It's not out...

The state of Rhode Island will officially honor bonds that financed Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 Studios after the Rhode Island Finance Committee approved a budget last night that includes an interest payment of $2.5 million, Reuters reports. According to the report, yearly payments must still be signed off on by both the House and Senate and payments may change in years to come as a result. The state sold $75 million in taxable bonds in 2010 in an attempt to court 38 Studios. While it was planned that the developer would repay the costs, 38 Studios shuttered, resulting in roughly $89 million left in payments. Last month Rhode Island governer Lincoln Chafee began looking into the ramifications of not paying back money owed to lenders, despite emphasizing the state has no plans to...

Retro-styled RPG Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition is now available on PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices, publisher Paradox Interactive announced. This updated version of the former mobile-only title includes new content, game areas, a longer campaign, tavern, dungeon raids and additional loot. The new edition can be purchased for PC and Mac for $9.99 via digital retailers, while a premium edition of the game — Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition Digital Deluxe Edition — is available for $14.99. Android and iOS users can purchase the new release for $2.99; however, those who previous bought the original title on mobile will receive +1 Edition for free. To get a taste of the game before you buy it, Paradox is holding a streaming event for the game tonight at 6 p.m. GMT on the...

Nintendo legend and creator of The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto, has never "made a bad game, per se," but believes Nintendo could have "done more with" Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, according to a recent interview with Kotaku. Miyamoto said that for Zelda 2, the designers only created what they had originally planned on paper rather than allowing the design process to grow and evolve. "I think specifically in the case of Zelda 2 we had a challenge just in terms of what the hardware was capable of doing," Miyamoto told Kotaku. "So one thing, of course, is, from a hardware perspective, if we had been able to have the switch between the scenes speed up, if that had been faster, we could have done more with how we used the sidescrolling vs. the overhead [view] and kind of the...